Friday, July 4, 2008

The Swallowtail Shawl is done and I really enjoyed this knit. Well, maybe except from the nupps. Or rather the first couple of rows with nupps. I had to make the loops extremely loose in order to make them, and once I even managed to tug the yarn so hard that it broke. I was actually about to give up and just leave out the nupps but after a while I got the hang of it. Fortunately, it wasn’t that difficult after all.

The yarn is half wool and half silk and not stretchy at all. This is a very good explanation why the nupps were so hard to make. If I knit this shawl again, which I’m really positive about, I think I’ll go for a more supple yarn even though I really love how this shawl turned out. The silk makes it smell sooo good! And the dark blue color with the lighter blue specks is gorgeous. A shawl perfect for a chilly summer night or day.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Once again, Berlin has been the destination for a small vacation. My boyfriend and I have spent 5 days in one of the best cities I know. Only one museum visit this time; an interesting exhibition of photographs by Alexander Rodchenko, and only one concert; a dub label night in Friedrichshain. The rest of the time was spent wandering around the city, relaxing in cafés, finding good places to eat (a lot of sushi, mmm), having drinks in cozy cafés and bars, simply enjoying. I was a bit sad, though, that the Berlin Philharmonic wasn’t giving any concerts during the summer; however, we knew it before we got there, so it was no surprise. We heard the orchestra last time we visited Berlin and it was just overwhelming. I have to go to the Philharmonie again some time.

Last time we were in Berlin I forgot to visit what I’d heard should be one of the best yarn shops in the city, namely Loops in Prenzlauerberg. Compared to Fadeninsel in Kreuzberg, which was my favorite so far, it was much alike. Loops carries Noro and ghh yarn, which is used in the patterns in Rebecca knitting magazine plus other yarn brands I didn’t recognize. I bought 4 skeins of sock yarn, Jawoll from Lang Yarns; two skeins in red and two in brown. I’ve noticed that especially the German sock yarn brands often have some extra reinforcement yarn in the skein, which is a good thing to use for the heel and the toe of the sock.

If you go to Berlin don’t forget to visit Fadeninsel and Loops!

I knitted on my Monkey socks in the bus to and from Berlin and thanks to my knitting it was actually a really nice trip. 8 and a half hour with knitting and listening to music while watching the landscape roll by. What great occupation knitting is!